With the SpamExperts Email Archiving Incoming and outgoing emails can be centrally archived and searched later. Archiving is therefore different from spam quarantine or a classic email mailbox backup.
It can be of particular interest to companies that want to centrally store business email communication and search it specifically when needed.
Important: Technical email archiving alone does not answer the question of which messages your company must or may retain for legal or organizational reasons. Retention periods, data protection, and access permissions must be regulated to suit the respective company.
What is SpamExperts email archiving? #
SpamExperts can also store messages processed through the corresponding infrastructure in a central archive.
The basic procedure in simplified terms looks like this:
Email traffic
↓
SpamExperts
↓
Filtering / Processing
↓
Archiving
↓
Subsequent search and recoveryThis creates an additional archiving level alongside the normal mailbox.
What is the difference between archiving and mailbox? #
Your normal email inbox is intended for daily work. There you read, answer, move, and delete messages.
An email archive serves a different purpose: It stores messages centrally and enables later searching regardless of whether the message in question is still present in the normal mailbox.
| Mailbox | Email archive |
|---|---|
| For daily email work | For additional centralized storage |
| User manages messages | Archived messages are saved separately |
| Messages can be deleted by the user | Archive copy can remain independently of the mailbox |
| Folder structure for daily organization | Search and retrieval are the foreground |
Email archiving is not a spam filter #
Archiving should also not be confused with the actual spam filter.
SpamExperts Incoming and Outgoing Filtering analyze messages and make filtering decisions, whereas archiving serves the purpose of retaining corresponding email communication and making it accessible later.
An archived message is therefore not automatically spam, and a spam message is not blocked solely on the basis of being archived.
Email archiving and spam quarantine are not the same thing #
Also the Spam Quarantine is not an email archive.
| Spam Quarantine | Email archive |
|---|---|
| Contains filter-blocked messages | Serves for the longer-term storage of archived messages |
| Part of spam handling | Separate archiving function |
| Messages can be reviewed and approved | Messages can be searched and retrieved |
We explain how spam quarantine works at Using Spam Quarantine in SpamExperts.
Difference between email archiving and backup #
Another important difference exists between Archiving and Backup.
A backup is primarily used to restore data after a loss or technical problem. In contrast, email archiving is focused on the structured, long-term retention and targeted retrieval of messages.
Backup
→ Disaster recovery
Archive
→ Retention and targeted searchBriefly explained: A backup and an email archive can complement each other, but they fulfill different tasks. An archive should not simply be considered a replacement for a backup strategy.
Which emails can be archived? #
Depending on the booked or configured setup, SpamExperts archiving can be used for incoming and outgoing messages.
In order for the messages in question to be archived, they must be processed via the designated SpamExperts message path.
Therefore, the correct setup of incoming filtering is important for incoming messages.
We explain these under Set up SpamExperts incoming filtering and configure MX records.
For outgoing messages, the intended outgoing transmission route must be used accordingly.
You can find the settings under Set up SpamExperts Outgoing Filtering.
Why is the actual message path important? #
An archiving system can only archive messages that actually pass through the processing path intended for this purpose.
If a message is delivered directly bypassing SpamExperts or sent via another outgoing SMTP service, it may lie outside the intended SpamExperts archiving.
Therefore, in the event of supposedly missing archive messages, it should first be checked which path the email in question actually took.
Open SpamExperts Control Panel #
Open your SpamExperts service via the CURIAWEB customer center.
Then check that you have opened the correct domain or the desired administrative level.
We declare the registration under Login to the SpamExperts Dashboard via the CURIAWEB Customer Center.
Open archive area #
If email archiving is available and enabled for your SpamExperts service, you will find the corresponding section for archive search or archived messages in the control panel.
Which functions are visible there depends on the booked archiving function, your access level, and the permissions available for your user.
Important: If you do not see an archive section, you should not assume that a technical error has occurred. Archiving is a separate feature and is not automatically available in every SpamExperts configuration.
Search for an archived email #
For a targeted search, you should know as much information as possible about the message you are looking for.
Especially helpful are:
- Sender address
- Recipient address
- approximate date
- approximate time
- Subject line or part of it
The more precisely you narrow down the search criteria, the easier it is to find a specific message in a larger archive.
Start with the time period #
For extensive archives, you should first select a meaningful time period.
If you know that a message was sent, for example, in March of a specific year, it usually does not make sense to search the entire archive spanning multiple years.
First, narrow down the time period and then add further search criteria.
Search by sender #
If the complete sender address is known, you can use it to significantly narrow down the search.
Example:
absender@example.com
Use the actual email address whenever possible, rather than just a visible display name.
Search by recipient #
The recipient address is also an important search criterion, especially for domains with many mailboxes.
Example:
buchhaltung@example.ch
The combination of time period, sender, and recipient is often already sufficient to significantly reduce the number of hits.
Search by subject #
If the subject is known, it can also be used as a search criterion.
However, with recurring automated messages, many emails can have an identical or very similar subject line.
Therefore, use multiple search criteria if possible.
Time period
+
Sender
+
Recipient
+
SubjectCarefully check search results #
If multiple messages are found, you should not decide solely on the basis of the subject which one is the desired message.
Additionally, compare sender, recipient, and time.
This is particularly important for invoices, order confirmations, system messages, or other automated emails whose subject lines regularly repeat.
Open archived message #
After selecting a suitable search result, you can open the archived message and check the available information.
Depending on your permissions and the SpamExperts configuration, further actions may be available for the message in question.
Please note that archived business emails may contain confidential or personal information.
Restore archived message #
An archived message can be redelivered to a designated recipient or restored from the archive, depending on the available feature.
Before restoring, carefully verify that you have selected the correct message.
Attention: A recovered email may contain confidential information or attachments. Check the intended recipient before sending or recovering it.
Why can't I find a specific message in the archive? #
If an expected message is not found, there are several possible causes.
Check first:
- whether the search period is correct
- whether sender and recipient were entered correctly
- whether the message was processed via the intended SpamExperts route
- whether archiving was already active at the time in question
- whether the message is within the available archiving period
- whether your user has the necessary permissions
Do not change other SpamExperts settings on a hunch if only an archived message cannot be found.
Log Search or archive search? #
Log search and archive search answer different questions.
| Tool | Typical question |
|---|---|
| Log Search | How was a specific email processed by SpamExperts? |
| Archive search | Where can I find an archived message? |
For example, if you want to know why a current email was not delivered, the SpamExperts Log Search the correct diagnostic tool.
If you want to find an older archived message instead, you use the archive search.
Archiving does not replace proper e-mail configuration #
Activating an archive does not fix issues with MX records, SMTP configurations, SPF, DKIM, or DMARC.
Archiving is an additional feature within the email infrastructure.
The actual message path and email authentication must still be configured correctly.
Consider SPF for outgoing shipments #
When outgoing emails are sent via SpamExperts Outgoing Filtering, the SPF configuration of your domain must also match the actual sending route.
We explain how to integrate SpamExperts into an SPF record at Properly setting up and checking SPF for SpamExperts.
How long are emails archived? #
The available retention period depends on the SpamExperts archiving used, or the booked product and its configuration.
Therefore, no general retention period should be assumed.
If your company requires a specific retention period, it must be verified whether the archiving system actually set up meets this requirement.
Important: A technically possible retention period is not automatically identical to a legal retention obligation. Technical configuration and legal requirements must be assessed separately.
Email Archiving and Data Protection #
An email archive can contain extensive personal and confidential information.
This may include, for example:
- Customer communication
- Contract documents
- Invoices
- personal data
- internal corporate communication
- Attachments
Therefore, access rights to the archive should be granted consciously.
Not every user who uses a normal email mailbox automatically needs to have access to a company's entire email archive.
Access rights based on the need-to-know principle #
For business archives, a policy of granting permissions as restrictively as possible is generally recommended.
Users should only be able to access those archived messages that they actually need for their task.
Administrative full access should accordingly only be granted to individuals who truly need this access.
Secure archive access #
Since an email archive may contain a large portion of corporate communication, access to it should be protected accordingly.
Use a secure, unique password for your CURIAWEB customer center and protect administrative access with special care.
Shared credentials should be avoided when individual users and permissions are available.
Email Archiving and Statutory Retention #
Companies may be required to retain certain business-relevant documents for defined periods of time. However, which emails fall under this requirement and what retention requirements apply depends on the legal jurisdiction, content, and the company's situation.
Therefore, a technical archiving function should not automatically be considered a complete legal or regulatory archiving solution.
Note: CURIAWEB provides technical information on email archiving with this article. For the evaluation of specific legal retention, data protection, or compliance requirements, you should have the regulations applicable to your company professionally reviewed.
Search for deleted email in archive #
If a message was accidentally deleted from the regular mailbox and email archiving was active at the time of processing, an archived copy may still be in the archive.
It is best to proceed as follows:
- Determine the approximate time period of the message.
- Note sender and recipient.
- Open the archive search.
- Narrow down the time period.
- Add sender or recipient.
- Check the found messages.
- Restore the correct message using the available functions if necessary.
What to do if a message was never archived? #
If a message has not passed through the SpamExperts system or the message path intended for archiving, it may not be present in the SpamExperts archive.
In this case, incoming messages should be checked to see if they appear in the Incoming Log Search.
For outgoing messages, it must be checked accordingly whether they were actually sent via SpamExperts Outgoing Filtering.
Check archiving regularly #
If email archiving is important for your company, its functionality shouldn't be tested only when a specific message is urgently needed months later.
After setup, check using a few real test messages whether incoming and outgoing emails appear in the archive as expected.
An occasional spot check also helps to detect changes in the message routing early on.
Practical Tip: After making changes to mail servers, MX records, or outbound SMTP routes, you should also check whether archiving is still capturing the expected email traffic.
Typical misunderstandings in email archiving #
| Misunderstanding | That is correct |
|---|---|
| „The quarantine is my archive.“ | Quarantine and archiving fulfill different tasks. |
| „An archive replaces any backup.“ | Archiving and backup have different goals. |
| „Every email is automatically archived.“ | The message must be captured by the configured archiving. |
| „When I delete an email from my inbox, it's gone everywhere.“ | A separate archival copy may still exist. |
| „Technical archiving automatically means legal compliance.“ | Legal requirements must be assessed separately. |
Summary #
SpamExperts email archiving enables the additional centralized retention and subsequent searching of emails processed via the designated SpamExperts infrastructure.
An email archive is not equivalent to spam quarantine or a traditional backup. The quarantine is used for handling withheld messages, a backup primarily for data recovery, and an archive for long-term retention and targeted search.
When searching for an archived message, you should ideally know the time period, sender, recipient, and subject. If a message is not found, it should also be checked whether it was processed via the intended SpamExperts message path at all and whether archiving was active at the time in question.
Since email archives may contain confidential and personal data, appropriate access rights and organizational rules are particularly important.
Technical archiving does not replace individual review of statutory retention, data protection, or compliance requirements.
